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MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR June 8 – 14

1042 – REIGN OF KING EDWARD OF ENGLAND BEGINS
Taking any interest on loaned money was considered a sin in early England. Under King Edward’s reign, those who charged interest (usurers) were declared outlaws and banished from the country.

1809 – DEATH OF THOMAS PAINE, COLONIAL REVOLUTIONARY
Commenting on the value of colonial-issued money, the “Continental”… ”Every stone in the Bridge, that has carried us over seems to have a claim upon our esteem. But this was a corner stone, and its usefulness cannot be forgotten.”

1845 – DEATH OF ANDREW JACKSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“The bold effort the present (central) bank had made to control the government … are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people, should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it.”
“If Congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given to be used by themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations.”

JUNE 9

2014 – PUBLICATION OF REPORT “WHO PAYS FOR BANK REGULATION” BY GOLDMAN SACHS CORPORATION
“In the wake of the financial crisis, a wide range of new and revised rules, regulations and practices have been imposed on the US banking industry. While many of these steps are designed to strengthen the safety and soundness of the banking system, they also act as a tax on banks: by changing relative prices, regulation makes some activities more expensive and others cheaper…While there is some added subtlety to the results of our analysis, we find in general that low-income consumers and small businesses – which generally have fewer or less effective alternatives to bank credit – have paid the largest price for increased bank regulation.”

How thoughtful of Goldman Sachs corporate leadership to be concerned about the plight of low-income consumers and small businesses in banking reform. One wonders if the corporation, which Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi called the “great vampire squid” for its ability to suck money instead of blood, had similar sympathies when it received $12.9 billion in bailout money related to AIG, or an additional $10 billion in federal TARP bailout funds (which shortly afterwards in the later case they decided to pay 953 employees bonuses of at least $1 million) — all of which served to increase its own economic solvency and political power. Goldman Sachs’ political power is demonstrated by its $4.7 million in political contributions/investments and $3.4 million in lobbying during the 2014 election cycle — funds used to water down or gut existing financial regulations. It’s this political influence, and the influence of other financial corporations, that also makes it nearly impossible to promote real monetary reform in Congress.

The corporation has total assets of $915 billion. It’s total exposure to derivatives, many of them tied to low interest rates, stands at $54.5 trillion.

JUNE 10

1751 – PASSAGE OF BRITISH CURRENCY ACT
The Act restricted New England colonies from creating paper money The colonies had issued paper fiat money known as “bills of credit” to help pay for the French and Indian Wars. The Act limited future issuance of bills of credit to certain circumstances (i.e. to pay public debts, such as taxes, but not private debts, such as to merchants)

1816 – DELEGATES CONVENE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION IN INDIANA
The Indiana Convention in 1816 and the Illinois Constitution in 1818 banned private banking corporations altogether. Voters in Wisconsin, plus four other states, rewrote existing constitutions requiring popular votes on every bank charter recommended by their legislatures as a result of corrupt banking practices associated with issuing bank notes. Only private banks that didn’t issue money (bank notes) operated in these states.

1932 – SPEECH BY LOUIS MCFADDEN (R- PA), CHAIRMAN OF THE US HOUSE BANKING AND CURRENCY COMMITTEE ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS
“The Federal Reserve (Banks) are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen…What is needed here is a return to the Constitution of the United States. We need to have a complete divorce of Bank and State. The old struggle that was fought out here in Jackson’s day must be fought over again… The Federal Reserve Act should be repealed and the Federal Reserve Banks, having violated their charters, should be liquidated immediately. Faithless Government officers who have violated their oaths of office should be impeached and brought to trial. Unless this is done by us, I predict that the American people, outraged, robbed, pillaged, insulted, and betrayed as they are in their own land, will rise in their wrath and send a President here who will sweep the money changers out of the temple.”

2008 – QUOTE BY FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR BEN BERNANKE
“The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.” Four months later, the financial industry collapses and Congress passes a $700 billion bailout bill. The nation is mired in a “Great Recession;” for many an outright Depression. The economy today remains stagnant.

JUNE 11

2009 – POSTING ON “TAKE DOWN THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND” BLOG ENTITLED, “REFORM IS NECESSARY”
“The International Monetary Fund is a ploy for Western democracies to spread their influence and control over developing nations. Claiming to be philanthropic and economically supportive by providing loans, the IMF simply doles out Western currency in the form of loans with high interest rates to developing nations who could never possibly pay them back. This creates an unfair economic dependency of developing nations on Western countries.”

JUNE 12

1915 – BIRTH OF DAVID ROCKEFELLER, FORMER CEO OF CHASE MANHATTEN CORPORATION (today is his 100th birthday!)
Purported quote in 1991, “We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected the promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world-government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the National auto determination practiced in past centuries.”

JUNE 13

1933 – CONGRESSIONAL PASSAGE OF GLASS-STEAGALL ACT
Actual title was Banking Act of 1933. President Roosevelt signed it on June 16. Considered one of the most important post Depression laws, the legislation created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which protected bank deposits. It also instituted several bank reforms to curb speculation that caused the Depression. One important provision was to create a firewall between Main Street depository banks and Wall Street investment banks. The Act was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999.

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt? Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice. This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini, Deb Jose and Greg Coleridge helped in its development. Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, email monetarycalendar@yahoo.com